00:20Iran strongly rejected a U.S. military claim that the school destroyed in Minab
00:26was actually located inside an active missile base.
00:29The claim by U.S. Central Command that the targeted Shajare Tayeb Elementary School in Minab
00:36was located within a missile launch facility is a baseless fabrication and an appalling lie.
00:44The exchange comes after CENTCOM Chief Admiral Brad Cooper told Congress that the investigation
00:50into the deadly strike was complex because the girls' school was allegedly situated
00:55on an active IRGC cruise missile site.
00:58You know what, sir, it's a complex investigation. The school itself is located on an active IRGC
01:04cruise missile base. It's more complex than the average strike. As soon as we're complete,
01:10I'm fully committed to transparency, given your important oversight role and the other members
01:14here.
01:15Just so you know, and I have an enormous amount of respect for you and an enormous amount
01:18of respect for the Pentagon, I do not trust that answer.
01:22And that statement has now triggered outrage inside Iran.
01:26Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghe, blasted the claim as baseless and accused the
01:32United States of trying to cover up what he called a massacre of schoolchildren and teachers.
01:37According to Iranian officials, more than 170 students and staff were killed in the missile
01:44strike during the opening day of the war. Baghe posted on X saying the U.S. narrative was
01:49a shameless distortion designed to obscure the reality of the attack. Iran insists the school
01:56was a civilian site and not part of any military infrastructure. But the U.S. military position
02:02appears different. Admiral Brad Cooper told lawmakers the investigation remains difficult
02:08because of the school's reported proximity to an operational IRGC missile facility.
02:15That claim immediately fueled speculation online that the strike may have targeted military
02:20infrastructure but hit civilians in the process. Reuters had earlier reported that an initial U.S.
02:27military investigation found American forces were likely responsible for the strike on the
02:32Muneeb school. And now the debate is rapidly escalating far beyond the battlefield. Critics
02:39are accusing Washington of attempting to justify civilian deaths by linking the school to missile
02:44operations. Others argue the reality of modern warfare becomes far more complicated when military
02:51sites and civilian areas exist close together. For now, the truth remains heavily disputed.
02:57Iran says children and teachers were deliberately targeted.
03:00The United States says the investigation is still ongoing. And as both sides push completely different
03:07narratives, the Munab strike is becoming one of the most controversial flashpoints of the war so far.
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